Honduras feels the love for Australia

Oct 12, 2017 - 2:31 AM
Getting to Australia will be hard enough for the Honduran soccer team; getting them to leave will be something else altogether if their players pay much attention to tabloid newspaper Diez.

Far from slighting Australia ahead of next month's two-leg World Cup qualifying playoff against the Socceroos, the San Pedro Sula-based newspaper has gone to great lengths to paint an ideal picture of this part of the world.

"Such is the incredible life in Australia, the country with one of the best salaries in the world," the headline to an 18-picture photo essay gushed.

"Australia offers one of the highest standards of living in the world. Life in Australia is safe, friendly and sophisticated and attracts thousands of professionals from all over the world."

The Hondurans were apparently mulling over whether to come to Australia via South America or the United States for the second leg and according to Diez its federation was preparing to spend more than $A500,000 for the trip.

Diez's second photo gallery was equally as effusive, if mired somewhere in the 1980s: "Australia, the country that seduces everyone with the spectacular beauty of its women."

As for the upcoming fixtures, Honduras, like the Socceroos without Mathew Leckie and Mark Milligan, have to deal with two players being unavailable due to the accumulation of yellow cards in qualifiers.

Defender Maynor Figueroa and forward Alberth Elis both received second yellow cards during their 3-2 win over Mexico and will only be available for the second leg in Sydney.

But up to six other players who weren't available for the Mexico match will apparently come into consideration for the Socceroos fixtures including Anderlecht right back Andy Najar and former Wigan midfielder/winger Roger Espinoza.

Unsurprisingly the Hondurans see their best chance as putting a score on Australia in the opening leg to be played in San Pedro Sula.

"We can win by taking advantage of the locality, taking advantage of it here and going to make a good game there," said midfielder and Spanish second division player Bryan Acosta, quoted in national Honduras paper, La Prensa.

And the man the Hondurans apparently most fear? No surprises there either.

"Tim Cahill is the great figure of Australia and the man Honduras must take care of," Diez wrote.